Bassnectar’s Basslantic City Invades AC For 2 Shows

Bassnectar. Ever heard of him before? Well, we can guarantee if you’ve ever even heard of electronic music, you probably have heard that name before. Regardless of your taste, when you came into the scene, or the people you surround yourself with, Nectar seems to have something for at least one person you know in your life. With his handing so many different areas of electronic music, his cult like following has exponentially grown since the inception of his project, and every time he plays it seems that he is peaking out even higher than before. You want the heaviest of the heavy? He’s got it. An intense melodic journey through sound? No problem. Some of the grimiest homages to the early waves of electronic and metal music? Easy pickings. Bassnectar has shown absolutely no signs of slowing down, and this past weekend is clear proof of that continuing. Two nights of absolute madness amassed such an incredible about of energy this weekend, it seems that Bassheads, still a week later, cannot stop talking about it. We were lucky enough at Independent Philly to have the chance to attend the shows at the Atlantic City Convention Center on April 28 and 29, dubbed ‘Basslantic City’ by fans. It was everything we could have asked for and more.

Walking into the venue on the first night, we were greeted graciously by security with friendly smiles and lots of love. Unfortunately, certain venues can sometimes treat electronic crowds, especially nectar fans, with discrimination and hate, but that was not the case in Atlantic City and it helped make the experience so open, welcoming, and special. The venue itself was decked out from top to bottom with top of the line production. Everything from the lights to the sound to the installations and other interactive activities brought the show together to create more of a magical world inside rather than a concert experience. It truly felt like we were entering Basshead wonderland upon arriving each day. When the music began, the lights and sound quality really bumped the show into overdrive from the first song of each set to the last.

Before the man himself had the chance to grace the stage, the opening musical duties were handled each night by some of the most talented underground and above ground names in the electronic industry. Night one was taken care of by Ninth Child, Eprom, and ill.Gates, and night two by Nosaj Thing, The Widdler, and Caspa. Out of all six openers, it seemed that Eprom came out on top of night one and Caspa on night two. Both of these openers perfectly set the pace for the headlining set, regardless of the position they were placed in for time slots. Eprom brought out his nasty and extremely glitchy style of new age trap combining some of the most wild sounds we’ve ever heard with an overarching hip-hop influence. Caspa, one of the legends of dubstep as a whole, showed the crowd exactly why the UK is where dubstep originated, and to this day thrives the heaviest. His set was pure dub bliss, and to be honest, we would have loved to see him have more than the hour slot he was given.

As the opening sets came to a close each night, there was a certain sense of electrical buzz that filled the air during the final changeover. The venue was packed with more than 14,000 Bassheads each night rocking all of their nectar gear. The Bassnectar following is one that truly is unique. It supports a community of arguably the most dedicated fans in all of EDM. Being inside that venue each night was really vitalizing. It brought to us a sense of unity that is largely lost in modern-day electronic music. Through both nights, we caught glimpses of people screaming their voices out, bawling their eyes out, and head banging their problems away. It was nothing short of an extremely powerful experience.

Each night Nectar brought a different vibe to each set. On night one, opening up with one of his biggest and most jaw dropping tunes “Here We Go”, Nectar brought the heaviness from the start, setting the tone for a set that would be focused heavily on his bangers. The more intense on night one, the better. Night one’s closer of “Raw Charles” sent shivers down the spines of the AC crowd while simultaneously left them gasping for air. In our opinion, night one really stole the show for the weekend. However, night two had it’s own flavor to it that was groovy to the max. Surprisingly, Nectar opened and closed with two of his heavier tracks as well on night two, playing “Encore” to start and his remix of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” to close. However, night two was filled with lots of dance fueled party tracks that had the entirety of the Basshead crowd down and dirty together. The vibe for night two was more of a chilled out vibe compared as compared to night one, but still brought with it breakdowns and buildups that got the blood flowing in a way that truly only Bassnectar can achieve.

Driving home on Sunday, we were left disappointed we could not get a third, fourth, or even fifth night of Bassnectar’s wonder. Truly, the only thing getting many of us through that ride away from Basslantic was the giddiness for the next time we get to catch Nectar do his thing. The experience he provides is one of a kind, and writing this piece was extremely challenging, as it is hard to put into words the type of experience it is. We can’t wait you to see you again Nectar.

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